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00 Montecchio
Stemma di Montecchio

Umbria · Terni

Montecchio

A small hill commune above the Tiber, sitting on top of one of Umbria's largest Etruscan-tied necropolises.

Best time
Apr–Oct
By car
1 h 12 min from Perugia
Population
1,521

Known for

  • NECROPOLI

    Fifty chamber tombs at Vallone di San Lorenzo, one of the largest pre-Roman necropolises in Umbria, with Etruscan ties to Orvieto.

  • OLIO

    Olive groves on the Tiber-facing slopes feed mills along the valley; the town is in the Città dell'Olio network.

  • COMUNI VIRTUOSI

    Member of the Italian network of small communes pursuing low-impact, low-consumption local policy.

When to visit

Best · Apr–Oct

  • J10°
  • F13°
  • M15°
  • A18°
  • M23°
  • J29°
  • J33°
  • A33°
  • S26°
  • O21°
  • N15°
  • D11°
  • Best
  • Hot or crowded
  • Quiet
  • Mostly closed

Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.

The festa: Bernardino da Siena, 20 May

Why come

Montecchio sits on a ridge above the Tiber valley, fifty kilometers south of Perugia and thirty northwest of Terni. The territory was inhabited well before Rome: the Vallone di San Lorenzo, about five kilometers below the borgo, holds fifty chamber tombs carved into the soft calcarenite locally called matile, with strong ties to Etruscan Orvieto at its sixth-to-fifth-century BC peak. The recovered artifacts, now in the Antiquarium of Tenaglie, document a wealthy pre-Roman community.

The settlement of Montecchio is first documented in 1154; the castle was raised around 1165 by the Chiaravalle family and passed through the Alviano, Baschi, Colonna and Atti before becoming independent of Baschi in 1948. Tenaglie, on the opposite ridge, is dominated by Palazzo Ancajani, built in the early 1700s on the foundations of an earlier fortification. The territory holds Borghi più belli, Città dell'Olio and Comuni Virtuosi standing together.

The Sunday letter

Montecchio is on our list. Its letter is still to come.

We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter every Sunday: the photo, the food, the festa. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Montecchio comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.

Read on

Montecchio in our articles

How to get there

From Rome (FCO), about 2h 15m by car.

Ancona / Pescara (AOI) is about 2h 38m away.

By car from the centre of Perugia 1h 12m or Siena 2 hours.

Coming by train into Perugia? Montecchio is about 1h 12m away by road.

Montecchio, photo 1
Montecchio, photo 2

What to see

  • Necropoli del Vallone di San Lorenzo

    Pre-Roman necropolis 5 km below the borgo, 50 chamber tombs carved in matile rock with klinai-shaped benches, peak 6th-5th century BC.

  • AMAT Antiquarium di Tenaglie

    Archaeological museum in the Tenaglie frazione displaying the necropolis finds, with strong evidence of Etruscan Orvieto influence.

  • Palazzo Ancajani (Tenaglie)

    Early 18th-century palace on a rocky ridge facing Montecchio, built by Filippo Ancajani over an earlier fortification.

  • Resti del Castello di Carnano

    Ruins of the year-1000 castle above the Tiber valley near the Abbey of Sant'Andrea, destroyed in 1553 by order of Pope Julius III.

The slow-trip planner

Building a trip? Find where Montecchio fits in a slow Italy circuit.

Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.

Plan your trip

Through the year

What happens here

Feasts and festivals that come back year after year. We give the month rather than the date, because the date moves and the month rarely does. Check with the source before you plan a journey around one.

  • Festa del Bignèpatron saint's feast

    usually held in August. TrovaSagre

  • Festa del Cinghialepatron saint's feast

    usually held in August. TrovaSagre

Living here

  • Population 1,521
  • In-betweeni
  • Pharmacy in town
  • High school within a 30-minute drive
  • Nearest airport Rome, 2 h 15 min drive
  • Regional capital Perugia, 1 h 12 min drive

Common questions

What is Montecchio known for?
Montecchio is a small hill commune at 377 meters above the Tiber, sitting on top of one of Umbria's largest Etruscan-tied necropolises.
Where is Montecchio?
Montecchio is a comune in the province of Terni, in Umbria.
What is the nearest airport to Montecchio?
Rome (FCO), about 2h 15m by car.
How long is the drive from Perugia to Montecchio?
About 1h 12m by car.
When is the best time to visit Montecchio?
Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 33 degrees, and December the wettest, with about 12 rain days.
Is there a sagra or a festival in Montecchio?
Yes. Festa del Bignè and Festa del Cinghiale. August is when the first of them falls.
Which other towns are like Montecchio?
Lugnano in Teverina, Bassiano and Monte Castello di Vibio.
How many people live in Montecchio?
1,521 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

The numbers

  • Elevation: 377 m
  • Population: 1,521
  • Surface area: 49.22 km²

These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.

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